Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Monday, May 25, 2009

In my thrifting adventures I happened upon a pile of vintage photos, and I couldn't help but buy them solely for the purpose of nosing through someone else's history. My husband just shook his head when I picked them up. I'm a bit of a magpie I guess and bring home "shiny" things of all sorts, but I have a real fondness for this sort of visual storytelling. Looking at the pictures I imagine the sorts of lives these people had led, how they might be feeling, where they ended up in this world....

Some of the pictures were really quite compelling but unfortunately this magpie's nest is full so I've listed them in my "extras" shop in hopes that someone else will get to enjoy them as much as I have.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Friday, May 15, 2009

Whew! I just updated my shop and am excited by how much color is in there. Check it out if you're so inclined. There are a few bouquets, brooches, acorns, and more. I'm hoping to do another update in two weeks with some totally new ideas I've been working on so stay tuned....

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Do you ever wonder about the one that got away? Regret what you hadn't gotten? This weekend through sheer happenstance, I was reunited with "the one that got away".

It started two years ago on a trip into town, I had stopped at a garage sale expecting to find the typical garage sale fare and instead bumped into the most beautiful, amazing.....wooden bowl I had ever seen. Of course wooden bowl, what did you think I was going to say? Now this was no ordinary wooden bowl, it was big, bold, well-used and it had history. I talked to its owner who told me that he had purchased an old cabin on a lake out in the country (which turned out to be just a few short miles from me). The cabin had been left untouched and unsearched until they had purchased the property and when they opened it up, they found it as it had been left years and years ago. The furniture, books, linens, everything was there, including the bowl. It was obviously well-used and I couldn't help but wonder how many loaves of bread it had prepared and who had the pleasure of owning it.

I listened as the man told the story, trying not to let on just how badly I wanted that bowl and was just about to offer him all the money in my wallet when he told me his selling price and it was very clear he wouldn't take a penny less. Alas, I was $7. short and left the garage sale empty-handed.

Every time I have driven past that road during the following two years I thought about that bowl.

This Friday, my hubby and I decided to go garage sale-ing and though we hadn't planned to be in that neck of the woods, we ended up in that old neighborhood. There at the end of the road was a garage sale sign. No, it couldn't be, could it? We drove on and as we neared the place, my heart began to thump a bit...it's the same house! The house of my lost bowl! We parked and walked up and as I neared the tables I saw it. THE BOWL WAS STILL THERE! As if it were waiting for me! This time it was mine. All mine. I guess it was meant to be.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Sunday, May 03, 2009

I went thrifting this weekend in St. Cloud and made quite a haul. I'm completely excited about it. I got some 100% wool coats for felting, one of which is vintage and has great buttons. They also have some nice quality satin linings which I'll use in a project of some sort. I got some leather pants and a vintage coat for crafting. Again, the coat has some cool vintage buttons which I'm sure I'll put to use. I also picked up a silver teapot and container for planting succulents in, an apothecary jar for making a little terrarium, and lots of other odds and ends; crayons for the kids, moulds, old clothes pegs, etc. Fun stuff!

I also picked up this little handpainted brooch for my coat.

All of this fun cost me $68. Woo hoo! Now I can't wait to dig into these new supplies and see what I can make. Hooray for thrifting!

We plan to make a kids' garden this year and I think given the success of these little sprouts, beans will have a prominent spot in their little green patch. I can see it now...pintos, navy, great northern, green beans, wax beans....

Friday, May 01, 2009

Just a glimpse at what I'm working on today. I've had very little time to craft lately, but in the snippets of free time I do get, I'm dividing my time between some woolly sewing, and this project. This particular project has been in my head for quite a while and I'm excited to have a start on it. More glimpses to come...